What to expect from June fuel prices as tax relief rollback limits diesel relief

Petrol is likely to reach record highs in June, but diesel could see some relief.

While diesel customers could see some much-needed relief in June, petrol prices are heading for all-time highs as the phase-out begins for Treasury’s fuel tax relief measures.

The latest daily snapshot from the Central Energy Fund shows that petrol is heading for increases of between nine cents (93 unleaded) and 16 cents (95 unleaded).

On a more positive note, a significant over-recovery has developed for diesel, with data pointing to decreases of between R3.84 for 50ppm and R4.27 for 500ppm. In fact, the latest daily numbers show that the diesel relief could swell further between now and the end of this month if conditions remain favourable.

But that all comes with a giant caveat, as government has so far indicated that the fuel tax reprieve, announced at the beginning of April, will be halved from June 3 before being phased out at the beginning of July.